Fire Never Sleeps
by IdPattThat
Summary: They're still trying to figure out how it happened.
1. Embers

**killerlashes prereads and I'm sorry.**

* * *

Embers

"It's a lot sometimes, isn't it?" He hears her voice behind him, though he didn't hear her footsteps. An impressive feat considering the heels she's wearing. The look on his face must be one of surprise because she laughs quietly.

"What? Did you really believe you were the only one trained in the element of surprise?"

Steve smiles, though it's more of a smirk, and Hill is convinced he's still mad about the whole "being experimented on" remark.

He doesn't say anything about it, though. Instead he answers her original question as his gaze settles on the inside of the Avengers' tower. People are still milling about: his friends and coworkers...his team.

"It's not much different than our USO shindigs, I guess." Steve smiles again and shrugs a little, while his eyes travel back to hers.

She looks different tonight; but he guesses they all do. The dress is red, short and feminine. He likes the way it looks on her, so different than the SHIELD uniform or the business suits she wears at Stark Industries. It takes a moment and a small movement for Steve to realize he's been staring. Hill shivers, just a little, but Steve is from a different time and he always remembers his manners.

He quickly shrugs out of his jacket and slips it around her shoulders before she can protest. (She tries to.)

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," she blurts out less smoothly than she'd like, but before she has a chance to change her mind.

Steve's brow furrows and she wishes she could crawl into a hole and die a slow and painful death there. She's been working closely with the Avengers for a few years now, but sometimes his presence still unnerves her. It isn't like she hasn't been around soldiers before, because she has. It's just that he's _the_ soldier: _Captain America_.

"Earlier?" He asks, and swipes two beers from a server who passes by on the balcony. He opens both and hands her one.

"In the elevator...about the twins?"

Understanding dawns on his face and her eyes tighten. He knows she feels bad; he knew the moment he made his remark about his own volunteering. It wasn't that he necessarily forgot about he comment, because he didn't. In fact, he had been feeling guilty about his comment but the party had seemed to make him forget for a while.

"It's nothing," he mutters with a dismissive wave of his hand because, really, it wasn't. "Water under the bridge."

"No, Cap, really. I-"

"Maria," he says her first name and she starts, but only a little. She doesn't want him to know that her name from his mouth does things and makes her feel something she hasn't felt in a long, long time.

"It was my terrible attempt at a joke. You have to remember that I was in the ice for a long time. Maybe my sense of humor isn't thawed out just yet."

He gives her a rueful smile and her whole body warms at the way his bright eyes crinkle at the corners. How his lips tug up and, _Jesus_ , those eyelashes should be illegal.

Also, when did she become such a... _girl_?

"We should get back before they send out the search party," Steve says, bringing her out of her own head.

She laughs, "We are the search party, Cap."

He grins and holds out his elbow to her, nodding slightly.

"I guess you're right," Steve says as she slips her arm through his. His other hand comes over and rests against hers, sending a jolt of electricity through her. She smiles and tries to hide her blush.

And then all hell breaks loose.


	2. Smoke

**Possible Age of Ultron spoilers. (Possibly written while drinking.)**

* * *

Smoke

Tony made a _murderbot_. If Thor didn't already have his hands around Tony's neck then Hill was sure that Steve's would have been.

Of course, after the initial knee-jerk reaction, it wasn't hard for everyone to get down to business. Strucker was dead and they needed to know why, which was why they were currently elbows deep in musty old files searching for something they would probably know until they found it.

She can't help but watch him even though she's supposed to be searching, too. Hill knows it can't be easy for him to be digging through the past: his past, the past of SHIELD...all of it is bound to bring up memories for him. Of course, if anything bothers Steve he doesn't let on.

He doesn't glance her way often, and an unfamiliar pit forms in her stomach. It's been a long time since Hill has been involved with anyone (if you can call two dates and that one time they met for coffee being _involved_ and what was his name again?), but, then again- does she want to be involved? Does she want to be involved with _Captain America_?

And does he even feel the same way?

There isn't much time to think about it because soon enough they've found something and the Avengers are gone. They're off to their separate floors to suit up and then on the Quinjet without so much as a backward glance. She's knows it's the job- hell, it's _her_ job, but it's still a lot to deal with.

So, no. Maybe she doesn't want to be involved.

xXx

"An expert in waiting too long, huh?" Natasha's voice is quiet and he almost smiles.

"I was just making an observation," Steve shrugs, but Nat's eyes are narrowed.

"Do you think I need your help Cap? I thought I was supposed to be finding _you_ a date."

That time he laughs. He thought that the fall of SHIELD would distract her from match-making, but it hasn't. Once he even accidentally went on a coffee date with Sharon Carter because Nat asked him to meet Clint for something. Of course, when he showed up they were both surprised. It was pleasant, though, and he enjoyed talking to Sharon even though she'd been his neighbor for months and lied to him about being an agent. They were amicable, however, and still kept in touch.

Steve was still pretty pissed at both Nat and Clint, though.

"I think I'm okay," Steve replies as he busies himself with his glove.

"You're going to wait too long again..." Nat muses.

His eyes slowly meet hers and he gets a weird feeling in his chest. Panic? Longing? It's been so long that he can't differentiate between the two.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Sharon is beautiful and she's in the _CIA_ now. Someone is going to you know-" she raises her eyebrows suggestively, but Steve rolls his eyes.

"We're friends. That's all."

For a moment he thinks she believes him and he's relieved; but Natasha is anything but gullible.

"No. It isn't Sharon, it is?"

He doesn't say anything but half expects her to squeal like a school girl and demand answers. She doesn't, however. Nat isn't gullible, nor is she a school girl. If she wants to know she has her ways.

"Hey, Cap, we're coming up on the drop," Clint calls from the front of the Quinjet and Steve feels like a man with a death row pardon.

"This isn't over," Natasha grabs his arm and he smirks down at her.

"No, I guess not," he replies before picking up his shield and heading to the cargo door.

At least, he hopes it isn't over for him yet.


	3. Spark

**idk, idk**

* * *

Spark

It's been a long time since he's felt this way. _Defeated_. That's the only way Steve can think to describe what he's feeling. They didn't know how powerful the Maximoff girl was, but they do now.

His chest is tight and his heart is heavy; he can hear Hill's voice over the com but he can't make himself look at her face. After his vision the only thing seeing Hill is going to make him feel is guilt and Steve isn't quite sure he can handle any more of that.

"We took a hit," he hears Tony say and Steve looks away.

Tony is putting it mildly. It wasn't so much a hit as it was a beating. Steve knows he isn't the only one who is feeling defeated. He can see it in Natasha's face, sense Thor's anger, and God only knows what is going to happen with Banner. Normally hearing Hill is reassuring, only today she doesn't sound so sure. She sounds like the rest of them.

He closes his eyes as the call is ended and tries not to think about what he saw. About what he _felt_. Of course it revolved around Peggy. Hell, most of the things he did were for her. To keep her safe and to make her proud. And, yeah, he'd waited too long with her. Shit, he was seventy years late for a date for Pete's sake. Still...that didn't mean that he couldn't protect the world she lived in and all of the things she'd always stood for.

Sometimes he thought that was the reason he was pulled to Hill. She was tough, stoic, smart. Hill was a fighter, anyone around her could see that. That's what Steve admired the most about her.

Before long they were landing, each of them confused with the exception of Clint and Natasha. They were all too worn to even hide their surprise at what they found at the safe-house. Apparently they all had more secrets than he knew.

Being at the Bartons is harder than he thought it would be. As much as he tries to push the vision from his mind, he can't. It's everything that he didn't get to have: Peggy, his friends, a life without war. He's lost much more than he's found and it still uncertain of where he actually belongs in this new time.

Thor leaves. Fury shows up. He finds it comforting that Hill is still in the picture even though she told them to lay low. Tony acts like it bothers him, but Steve knows- hell, they _all_ know they need some guidance right now. Of course, Fury knows exactly what to say even if it isn't what they want to hear. He doesn't coddle them or sugarcoat anything, and he shouldn't have to. They know that also.

So, they pick themselves up and get ready to go back out there.

xXx

Hill knows the Avengers aren't unshakable. She's seem them take hits before: Coulson, New York, the fall of SHIELD. This time is different, though. Something about Stark's tone helps her to realize that.

Of course, even while she's thinking of the team, Hill can't help but think of _him_. What could be so tough that it would bring down the whole team, especially Steve? She doesn't want to think of any of them being hurt. Just that small seed of fear in her heart could be detrimental, so she tried to push it away. Still, she couldn't help but think of the moment when he told her fire on the helicarriers. When she watched them (and him) fall into the Potomac. He was always so strong and so willing to sacrifice everything for those around him. It worried her now to think that something could change that.

Most of all, she wanted to be there with him to make sure it didn't happen.


	4. Flame

**Needed a third viewing of AoU to inspire me. Spoilers ahead.**

* * *

Flame

She watches him carry Pietro onto the helicarrier with his jaw set tight. He waved off anyone else who tried and, after he sets him down with surprising gentleness, Steve doesn't leave the boy's side. It isn't until Wanda shows up that Steve finally walks away.

Head up, eyes forward.

Stoic.

Sad.

No one follows him, but God does Maria want to. Instead she busies herself with giving orders. She makes sure the wounded are being treated, the hungry fed, and the angry calmed. Maria is organized and efficient, so this is where she feels needed the most. This is what she's good at.

But at the moment..it isn't what she wants.

Usually if she wants to find someone she'd pull up the security cameras and look, only this time she doesn't. Somehow she knows just where he is.

The room is on one of the lower levels with a wide window. In one of the other models it had served as a lab, but now the room is empty. Well, empty with the exception of Captain America.

"It doesn't even look like anything happened from here," he says before he turns around and sees her frowning. "What, did you think you were being sneaky again?"

Hill shrugs. "I wasn't trying to be."

"That's good." Steve leans back against the window and closes his eyes, so she moves closers.

"I was worried," she whispers.

This makes him open his eyes. It makes him stand up straight. It spreads a warmth through his chest and it almost makes him smile.

"About me?" As he says it his lips tug up at the corner.

"You're being cocky." Hill sets her hands on her hips and glares at him. He kind of likes it.

"Me? Nah."

"It's different now, you know? There's no SHIELD and being stuck at Stark Industries I feel like I don't know much about the missions. I mean, even though I'm still in contact with Nick which basically saved all of your asses, and I just-" she doesn't stop talking until he's right in front of her.

"You were worried?" he asks as his hands slip to the side of her face. His memories of her features don't do her any justice. She's more beautiful up close, especially this close.

"Of course."

He takes a deep breath and presses his forehead against hers, eyes closed tightly. She stills, but it's brief, and then her hands cover his own. It's been so long since someone has worried about him. Since someone has voiced the words. Since someone has wanted him to come back. For a moment he doesn't know what to say.

"I wanted you to be safe. To come back," she says and his eyes open.

He pulls back and rubs his thumb over the apple of her cheek.

"Me too. I mean, I wanted to come back...to you," Steve replies.

He gives her a second for his words to sink in.

And then he kisses her.


	5. Smolder

**Thanks for reading and taking the time to review. This was something new for me, so I hope you enjoyed it. XOXO**

* * *

Smolder

She guesses she does know when and how it happened. It was when SHIELD fell. It was his speech about HYDRA and urging others to join him. Sam had given him shit, but Steve definitely had a way with words.

It was that strength that put the proverbial nail in the coffin of her attraction to Steve Rogers. The faith he had in humanity was encouraging, and something she had almost lost. Hill knows it's that strength and goodness that makes him a good leader.

It's the reason she's in the new facility right now and not in Stark tower anymore.

Of course, it isn't the reason she's watching him spar with Wanda in the new facility. That's a different reason altogether. One that has more to do with how he looks in that tight blue shirt than anything else.

Hill tries not to laugh when Wanda knocks Steve flat on his back. She's gotten so much stronger, body _and_ mind. So much so that Sam refuses to spar with her even though he has to take shit from Steve and Natasha for it.

Fortunately, Steve is laughing as he pulls himself to his feet and pats Wanda on the shoulder.

"I'll get you next time," he teases.

"You wish," she mutters as he walks away.

He laughs and makes his way to Hill, who hands him a thin file.

"You're not going to get her, you know," Hill tells him as they make their way down the hall to her office.

"Ouch!" He feigns hurt, but he's smiling as he holds the door open for her. "It must be bad when your own girl doesn't believe in you."

Hill raises her eyebrow at the term 'girl', but Steve only smiles.

"Girl _friend_? Lady? Woman?" He questions. She just shakes her head as steps towards him.

"Just stop talking," Hill finally says. Steve obliges and pulls her closer, fully preparing to wrap his arms around her before he remembers the file she handed him.

"What's this?" Steve asks before pulling away and opening the folder. "It's empty."

"Oh, that? That was me luring you to this very private office."

"Huh," he says with a shrug before tossing the file over his shoulder and tugging her to him. She smiles and leans up to kiss him.

It's been a few weeks since their moment on the helicarrier, but they seem to be making it work. Their relationship isn't a secret by any means, but it's still hard to get time together. Well, time during the day together. Time at night is another thing entirely. Just thinking about makes Maria's skin warm and she has to pull away from him.

That, of course, was a mistake because the look in his eyes is nearly debilitating. It makes her weak in the knees and she mentally kicks herself for not being a credit to her gender and letting a guy make her feel like that.

Even if the guy is Captain America.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asks with her hands on either side of his face.

"Like what?" Steve looks confused for a moment before his lips curve into a smile and she gets _that_ _feeling_ all over again.

"Like you're going to do something-" she starts

"I love you, Maria," he interrupts.

"-ridiculous," she finishes lamely.

Steve grins as she tries to step away but his hands hold firm at her slim waist. He's glad he finally said it even though she's sure to think that it's too soon. It doesn't really matter to him, really. His feelings had started long before the battle with Ultron. It was only after everything happened did he realize that he needed to stop holding things in.

He had meant it when he told Tony that being at the new facility- training, practicing, creating strategies- was home. It just so happens that Maria is here, too, and that makes it all the better.

"That's just ridiculous, Steve and I- you know, it's just...okay."

"Okay?" He smiles and brushes a stray hair from her face.

"Yes. Okay. Thank you. I feel the same way," she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest while Steve holds back a laugh.

"I know," he tells her before pulling her into a hug that lifts her off her feet.

She relaxes into him, her arms around his neck and her face pressed to his skin. He smells like the gym. Like a hint of coffee from the morning and the laundry detergent that they buy in bulk for the facility.

He smells like home and, for the first time in a long time, she feels like she belongs, too.


End file.
